Peter Woods: New publications on educational practices of experimental music scenes

Furthering his research into the educational practices of experimental music scenes, LSRI member Peter Woods recently had two new papers published that examine this informal learning context through a critical lens. In The Pedagogy of Gear Touchers, Woods argues that aspiring musicians in do-it-yourself (DIY) music venues use the lack of an audience/artist barrier to talk about music technology with performers. However, these conversations amplify the overtly masculine framing of technology in society at large and further marginalize women, trans, and non-binary participants in these scenes. Woods therefore raises questions about the kinds of informal pedagogies that surround technology outside of schools (i.e., the constructionist approach to learning found in maker spaces). You can find the paper here: https://doi.org/10.1177/01614681231190498 And in Conceptualizing Anti-Racist Pedagogies Within Experimental Music's Community of Practice, Woods presents new findings drawn from an experimental music venue's recent DEI initiative focused on addressing issues of white supremacy within their organization. In exploring how the board of this venue conceptualized their efforts, Woods argues that community organizers in all contexts can look to...
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The Educational Implications of Representing Covid-19

The Educational Implications of Representing Covid-19

Gharib, M., and Turner, C. (2020). A Comic Just for Kids: How to Stay Safe from the Coronavirus [Online Image]. NPR. Retrieved from: https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/11/16/934679210/just-for-kids-how-to-stay-safe-from-the-coronavirus (Accessed May 14, 2021). Andrew Manches and I did what many of you did too last year. We spent a lot of time looking at pictures, videos, models, gestures and animations of Covid-19. But then we decided to put this to good use and analyse the implications of how we represent Covid-19 (and other viruses) to children and young people. The resulting paper is published in Frontiers in Education and available open access at Frontiers | Learning About Viruses: Representing Covid-19 | Education (frontiersin.org) (best read the pdf version as the figures are clearer). Please share with your educator friends if you think they will find it helpful. ...
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New Paper: Recognising and Limiting Teleological Explanations

Children’s use of teleological explanations can pose problems in science education. But can children be taught to recognise teleological explanations? And does recognition of such explanations mean that children will no longer endorse incorrect teleological statements? In a recently published paper, LSRI members, Johnny Halls, Shaaron Ainsworth and Mary Oliver report two studies that attempted to answer these questions. You can read about these results of these studies here.   Halls, J.G., Ainsworth, S.E. & Oliver, M.C. (2021) Using dialogic interventions to decrease children’s use of inappropriate teleological explanations, International Journal of Science Education, https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2021.1936271 ...
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A new paper on Drawing to Learn

So in the LSRI, it's probably well known that we love learning by drawing. Over the years, we have researched drawing to learn from texts, drawing to learn in science, drawing when learning fashion design, drawing to tell stories, drawing from simulations in Chemistry and Physics and drawing in medical anatomy sessions. I am probably forgetting some! So in this paper, Katharina Scheiter (an honorary professor in the LSRI as well as a professor at the University of Tübingen) and Shaaron Ainsworth (Director of the LSRI) tried to synthesise these studies (and more) to explore how drawing can be used for different educational reasons. You don't have to be an expert as it was written for a general audience. It's just out but sadly paywalled so if you can't see it, do get in touch with Shaaron. ...
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An early holiday present

If sketching, simulations and quantum mechanics are your thing! Although intermediate level quantum mechanics involves some far from straightforward (from my limited perspective) mathematical reasoning; it can also involve visual reasoning. In this paper, co-authored with my amazing collaborators, who are working constantly to improve physics teaching, we explore how visual learning of quantum mechanics with simulations can be enhanced by asking students to draw both and during their interaction with these simulations. See this paper (open access) for lots more detail and do follow what Antje Kohnle and Gina Passante are up to. ...
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Getting to grips with technology enhanced learning literature – new paper by Denise Sweeney

What Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) literature do new university teachers and lecturers actually find useful? How do university teachers engage with TEL literature in their practice? Does disciplinary background influence TEL literature choices? Find out answers to these questions in a new paper by LSRI member Denise Sweeney, “Getting to grips with technology enhanced learning literature: Wading out of murky waters” (open access) can be found here. The paper is published in the inaugural edition of Studies in Technology Enhanced Learning. This new open-access academic journal aims to support scholarly conversation about Technology Enhanced Learning. ...
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Essay mills and the portrayal of HE student experience

Many essay mills adopt empathic narratives to secure custom from students. But how are student’s higher education experiences represented in these narratives? Do essay mills portray higher education practices in a positive or negative manner? And what impact could these narratives have on student’s beliefs about higher education? In How Internet Essay Mill Websites Portray the Student Experience of Higher Education, LSRI member Charles Crook and University of Nottingham colleague Elizabeth Nixon explore these questions. If you want to find out more, this paper is published by The Internet and Higher Education and is available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2020.100775 ...
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Move like a fish?

Move like a fish?

Can enactment help you recognise and understand the movement patterns of creatures with bodies very different to our own? A collaboration between researchers at the LSRI at Nottingham and Leibniz-Institut für Wissensmedien in Tübingen set out to answer that question. If you want to read about what we found out you can in this paper now published by Computers and Education. ...
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New article on Inquiry-Based Instruction by Mary Oliver

Interested in inquiry-based instruction in science education? Concerned about the efficacy of the approach to develop scientific literacy? Or want to learn more about how variables are conceptualised in PISA? If so, have a look at the new article my LSRI member Mary Oliver. ‘The Efficacy of Inquiry-Based Instruction in Science: a Comparative Analysis of Six Countries Using PISA 2015’ was recently published in Research in Science Education. In this article, Mary Oliver and colleagues from Murdoch University in Perth, Australia, conduct a comparative analysis of students’ scientific literacy and its association with different instructional strategies (inquiry-based, adaptive and teacher-directed). They do this by drawing on six countries that participated in PISA 2015. ...
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New publication by Mary Oliver and colleagues

Inquiry Based Learning (IBL) in science education has received much funding, promotion and policy support from the EU. But how do teachers view IBL? And what are their experiences of engaging in IBL? A recent publication by LSRI member Mary Oliver addresses these questions. The article, titled ‘Highly Recommended and Poorly Used: English and Spanish Science Teachers’ Views of Inquiry-based Learning (IBL) and its Enactment’, was a collaborative piece with colleagues from the University of Jaen, Spain, and the University of Nottingham, UK. Follow the link to find out about how science teachers in England and Spain view and enact Inquiry Based Learning. ...
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